# Self-RAG

> Self-RAG trains a model to decide when to retrieve, and to emit special reflection tokens that critique whether retrieved passages are relevant and whether its own output is supported by them.

- Identifier: PTL-0057
- Category: Retrieval & Tool Use
- Canonical URL: https://protologue.com/t/self-rag/
- Introduced: 2023

## Description

Retrieving on demand rather than for every query avoids adding irrelevant context and lets the model's critique steer generation.

## Broader terms

- [Retrieval-Augmented Generation](https://protologue.com/t/retrieval-augmented-generation/)

## Related terms

- [Chain-of-Verification](https://protologue.com/t/chain-of-verification/)

## Sources

- Asai et al. (2023). Self-RAG: Learning to Retrieve, Generate, and Critique through Self-Reflection. https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.11511

## Cite this entry

Protologue. (2026). Self-RAG. In Protologue: A Taxonomy of Prompting and LLM Techniques (v1.0.0, PTL-0057). https://protologue.com/t/self-rag/

License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)